How much is my unemployment benefit - NYS Department of Labor calculation confusion
I'm trying to figure out how much my weekly unemployment benefit will be but the NYS Department of Labor website isn't giving me a clear answer. I made about $52,000 last year working at a manufacturing plant but got laid off two weeks ago. When I filed my claim, it just said 'benefit amount pending' and I haven't heard anything since. Does anyone know how they calculate this? I need to know for budgeting purposes since my rent is due next week.
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Malik Thomas
NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit amount based on your highest quarter earnings in your base period. Generally it's about half of your average weekly wage up to the maximum. For 2025 the max weekly benefit is $504. Since you made $52k last year you'll probably get somewhere between $350-450 per week depending on how your earnings were distributed across quarters.
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Emma Wilson
•Thanks! That's actually higher than I expected. Do you know how long it usually takes for them to determine the exact amount?
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Isabella Oliveira
mine took like 3 weeks to show the amount but i think thats cause my employer disputed it or something. check your my.ny.gov account every few days
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Ravi Kapoor
The formula is: take your two highest quarters of earnings, divide by 26, then multiply by 0.5. That gives you your weekly benefit rate. If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach an agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours only to get disconnected.
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Emma Wilson
•Never heard of that service but honestly anything is better than calling the regular number. I tried 15 times yesterday and couldn't get through once.
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Freya Larsen
•I used something similar when I had issues with my adjudication last year. These services really do work if you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor quickly.
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GalacticGladiator
The NYS Department of Labor system is so backwards! They should just tell you upfront what your benefit amount will be instead of making everyone wait weeks wondering if they can pay their bills. I've been dealing with UI for 8 months now between different jobs and it never gets easier to navigate their website.
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Omar Zaki
•I know right?? Like why is it so hard to just give us basic information about our own claims
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Chloe Taylor
Just wanted to add that if your benefit amount seems wrong when it finally shows up, you can appeal it. I had to do that because they miscalculated my base period earnings. The appeal process took another month but I ended up getting $75 more per week which added up over time.
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CosmicCrusader
Emma, I went through this same situation last year when I got laid off from my job. The "benefit amount pending" status is frustrating but pretty normal - it usually means they're verifying your wage records with your employer. In the meantime, you can try to estimate it yourself using the formula others mentioned. Take your highest earning quarter from last year, divide by 13 weeks, then take half of that amount. That should give you a rough idea. Also, make sure you're continuing to certify for benefits each week even while the amount is pending, otherwise you might miss out on back payments once it's approved.
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